


run away, far away, or they'll get you

by VelvetDweams



Series: There is Order in Chaos (TOC) [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Child Abuse, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Eret basically adopts a child hehe, Hybrids, King Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Memory Issues, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Not Beta Read, Parent Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Prince Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo has PTSD, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), There is Order in Chaos AU, backstory time (:<, the violence isn't all that graphic but there is violence, there is some sus stuff going on here! :D
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28934292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetDweams/pseuds/VelvetDweams
Summary: He's bleeding and on the run. Voices are shouting at each other, telling each other they need to find and drag him back. He's bleeding and scrambling to find a place to hide in this too large of a city. The men's voices blur together, but he knows they see the trail he's leaving behind, like dogs they're going to sniff him out. He's bleeding, and he's hiding in a cramped area, trying to get his breath back.
Relationships: Captain Puffy & Ranboo, Eret & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo
Series: There is Order in Chaos (TOC) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2097834
Comments: 53
Kudos: 397





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> ive been going on a fanfiction binge lately (there are so many good ones out there oh my god) & they've been so inspiring :D also this is my first time writing ranboo & eret so uh I'm sure that's obvious. feedback is appreciated but not required (duh). i have so many ideas for this au;; haha

Ranboo curls up into a ball, bleeding and bruised and scared. He lets out a small sniffle, trying to ignore the shouts of the scary men who were trying to get him. His hands are all messed up, one of his claws ripped out altogether from a dumb mistake, and he's covered in dirt and grime. He wishes he wasn't here and in this situation. Hell, he doesn't even know where _here_ is.

Ranboo was sure he'd been told by the man who brought him, in shackles and chains, but he _can't_ remember. He wants to really because this city is big and scary and there are too many people, and maybe he shouldn't have run away from the man who bruised him, beat him, and made him bleed. But he had been terrified. 

The man finally took off the rope from around his chafed wrists and shoved him into the iron bar cage, not daring to remove the blindfold from around his eyes. Ranboo had to do that himself, and he wasn't sure if he was allowed to, so he didn't. The young boy had been left there, blinded, shaking, and curling into himself for some form of comfort. He hadn't wanted to be there anymore, he decided. And so, when the chance came, he ran. When a brute of man came by, cooing at him and tempting him with cold stew and stale bread, one of the best dinners he would have had in awhile, with an unlocked door, Ranboo didn't waste this chance. But, when he finally dared to put his plan into action, he also didn't feel the most control of his actions. It felt like he was taking a backseat and letting someone with more courage than he go through with this part of the plan.

He pulled the dirty cloth from around his head, looking towards the man who taunted him. He didn't make eye-contact, instead kept his eyes lowered and leaped at the man, dragging dirt-clogged nails across flesh. When a hand grasped his hair, he turned his head, like a feral cat, and dug inhumanly sharp teeth into skin. 

Blood, coppery and nose-scrunching, bursts into his mouth. The man releases him with a scream. Part of the stew had spilled on him, the other half onto the floor. He's running, making sure to scoop up the stale bread in his arms, and he's running. He's running as fast as he can, bare feet slapping against the cold and dirty stone. 

Hands grab at him, nails dig into his skin as they try to pull him back. 

He doesn't want to go back. 

He bites and claws and struggles his way out. 

The air is cool on his face, he's out, but he's not away. They are still coming after him. Chain-man is shouting, but he doesn't understand. Nobody has gone out of their way to help him understand. They always _make_ him. Then they get angry when he can't, and then they punish him. Everything, without fail, led back to punishment. He, at least, learned that word from their tongue. It was spoken so often it'd have been weird not to know. And punishment was a bad and evil word. 

And if he got caught, he would surely be punished. 

Ranboo scrambled up some wooden crates, chipped nail snagging on something. He can hear footsteps behind him, his already panicked mind going into overdrive. They're going to turn the corner, and they're going to see him, and they're going to get him, and they're going to drag him back into that cell, and they're going to chain him up for so long that his wrists will stay bloodied and bruised forever. He tears out the snagged nail, not immediately perceiving what he'd just done as green blood starts coating his finger. His mind is numb to the pain as he scrambles over the boxes and runs again.

He turns corner after corner, exiting and entering alleyways. At one point, he got cornered by a man way bigger than him. A knife is swung at him, grazing his arm. He's tinier than this man and uses that to his advantage, and he's able to get with only a few minor scrapes. But he's bleeding now, bits of red and green dotting the ground, quite an obvious trail if anybody ever saw one. 

But he doesn't think about that when he finds himself crawling in a tight space and curling into a ball. The pain of everything has come crashing down, and he uses his hand to muffle his sobs.

He hears footsteps approaching, and he just knows that he's been found, that they're going to drag him out by his tail and they're going to hurt him and hurt him and hurt him and hurt him and-

"Hey, can you come out... I'm not going to hurt you," he hears a much softer voice, definitely one he didn't recognize - would he recognize any voice - whisper to him.

He lets out a whimper, fist balled up in his hair. No, he's not going to come out. They're going to have to force him to come out because he's not going to. He's not going to listen to them anymore.

"Those men who are causing a commotion... They're looking for you, aren't they? I won't let them harm you." 

Ranboo refuses to speak, believing this all some lie. Or was, until he realizes something. He can understand this man completely. Every word that came from his mouth sounded familiar, and he could understand it all. 

Slowly, he opens his eyes to look out of his little hiding place. A very slim looking man kneels there on his knees. He has a caring smile on his face, but his eyes are covered by tinted glasses. Which is something Ranboo is a bit scared of because if he can't look into his eyes, he can't see into his thoughts, can't read his mind, and figure out his true intentions. 

But he also senses some similarity coming from him, like if he had known him before. It's possible he could have known him once. 

The man raises both hands, a sign of peace from what Ranboo could recognize, and continues speaking in that soft and gentle voice, "I promise I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I'm going to protect you. I won't let those men harm you anymore." 

It sounds too good to be true, Ranboo thinks. The men who hurt him sometimes used soft voices in their own language, using that to get him to trust them. And then they turned around and brought so much pain to him. 

"No..." Ranboo croaks, voice raw and croaky as he pushes away from the strange man in nice clothes, forcing his back against a wall, "Don't trust... You. You..are- are... Bad. Will hurt... me." The words sound weird on his tongue, which feels too swollen in his mouth. It's been too long since he's last spoken actual words instead of the screams that were ripped from him. 

"I won't," the man says, continuing to try and coax the little boy out. Still, he refused. "How about this," the man tries again, "if you come out... I'll get you some food, and I'll bring them to you. Will you come out then?"

Ranboo shakes his head, thinking that this man will go out and get his friends and bring them back here, and he'll bleed some more. 

"I'll do it anyway... I want you to trust me." 

So the man gets up and leaves, and it's suddenly silent but not too silent because Ranboo can still hear faint shouting, dogs barking, something shuffling in nearby trash. And it's so loud in this big city with too many turns and alleyways, and he thinks he should get out of here while the clean-looking man is gone, but he can't make himself move. It hurts when he does, and the idea of food keeps him in place like a starved dog. 

The minutes drag on until finally, the man reappears, but Ranboo smells him before he gets there. He can smell something sweet, like fresh strawberries - how does he know what _fresh_ strawberries smell like? - and bread, but not the rotten or stale kind, with a hint of something sweet that he couldn't exactly remember. 

"Kid, I got food for you." 

The man kneels once more, once again getting his clean clothes dirty, but he doesn't seem to care about that, which is odd because Ranboo would never get his clothes dirty if they ever got clean again. Ranboo moves, despite what he told himself, and crawls out of the place that had been just a little too small for him. Though the little boy is in pain, and there's a small puddle of his own blood that he had been laying in, which had ended up staining his already spoiled clothing. The man notices this almost immediately but doesn't say anything holding out something unfamiliar to Ranboo. He's hesitant to take it.

"It's a strawberry-jam-filled biscuit. Fresh out of the oven. It's not poisoned, I promise. I also got you this to help you wash it down." He also holds out a glass bottle of milk. With shaky hands, Ranboo takes both of these things. He sniffs at them, both smelling heavenly compared to the things he's had for the last few... How long has it been? A few months? A year? He doesn't like to think about the time. Instead, he thinks about his empty stomach and how yummy this is going to taste. 

Deciding that the food is safe while eyeing the older man, he takes a small bite. Flavors dance across his tongue, mixing pleasantly, and it's just so sweet and delicious. He scarves it down, not much minding the small bits of blood he accidentally smears onto it and the bottle. Next, with a little help from the man, he downs the milk. It's refreshing and pleasant, washing down any of the bread that might have been stuck in his throat. 

"See... Not going to hurt you... I'm Eret... And you are?" 

Ranboo opens his mouth before closing it as he thinks about the question. _Who was he?_ And for a split, horrifying second, he can't remember his name. Nobody has ever asked him for it before, and he hasn't used it in forever. It made him wonder if he even had a name. But he does. He's Ranboo. He repeats it like a mantra in his head, as he has done so often before. 

"Ranboo," the little boy says. 

"Okay, Ranboo... Do you mind coming with me? I want to take you back to my place to get you... cleaned up. I won't bring you back to those men. In fact, I'll make sure they never harm you again." 

Ranboo knows he shouldn't, but he so desperately wants to trust this man, so he does. He nods his head. 

"Good kid," the man, Eret, says with a smile. He reaches out beside him, a black voice opening up as he sticks his hand through. It terrified Ranboo, causing him to back up some to which Eret quickly assures him it's okay, that it's something called "inventory''. He's seen it before. The scary man would reach into a black voice and pull out so many different things, mostly things that would hurt him, but what this man pulls out is a large and fluffy red cloak. 

"Would you... Would you mind wearing this?" he asks. The boy swallows harshly but nods. He's gotten this far, and he might as well continue trusting this strange man. 

With gentlest of care, the man wraps the cloak around his frail body, a golden clasp being clasped at his neck. It's big, and the fabric is heavy, and he doesn't understand why he needs to wear it, especially when the hood is pulled over his head and almost clouding his whole vision. 

"So they don't find you," the man answers as if he had read the small boy's mind. Maybe he had, but Ranboo doesn't want to consider that. The man gets up and asks, "Can you walk?" 

The boy attempts it, he really does, but it hurts, and his legs are too shaky, and he's just too tired. And he ended up eating too quickly, and now it felt like knots were forming in his stomach. Ranboo shakes his head, and an embarrassed flush overcomes him. 

He half expected the man to tell him to suck it up or keep moving, but instead, he felt arms wrapping him, lifting him from the ground. He panics but is immediately calmed down by Eret. 

"I'm just carrying you," he says in a hushed whisper, "Just rest, alright? I got you..." 

Ranboo could almost believe, but he's still tense as he rests his head against the man's shoulder, which the boy doesn't even think he should be doing. Ranboo was going to get his pretty white shirt all bloody and dirty, and then he's going to get in trouble, and then Eret is going to hurt him, or take him back to the chain man, who'll be super angry that he ran away. 

He unintentionally clenches his hand into the white fabric, though if Eret noticed that all, he didn't say anything. He doesn't even bring up the fact that the boy has started crying, burying his head face into the shoulder. Instead, he simply does his best to comfort the crying child. 

\---

Ranboo is terrified when he wakes up, due to those terrible nightmares that plague him, in a large room in a very comfortable and very spacious bed with a heavy blanket covering him. And his tattered and bloodied clothes are missing, being replaced with bandages. And he didn't even hurt all that much, but it's too much. He's scared and confused, and he wants to cry again, but then suddenly, a man is there. 

It's Eret. His name was Eret, Ranboo remembered. He's holding a tray with food and a drink on it, dressed in fresh clothing. There's a concerned look on his face as he looks at the boy. 

"I was just about to come to wake you up," Eret says, still wearing those tinted glasses, "I brought you some food." 

Ranboo calms his breathing, sitting up and letting the blanket that covered him fall in his lap. He sets the tray in the boy's lap, who eyes the food. There's a bunch of different kinds, but all of it smells really good, mouth-watering even. But he has to ask first.

"Where... Am I?" 

"You're at my castle." 

Ranboo cocks his head to the side. He's seen many castles before, but they had been old and ruined. But there was the castle in the middle of the city, which wasn't in ruins like the others. It had dwarfed all the other buildings, and he felt intimidated by it at first. Was it that one that they are in now? But only reallllllly important people owned a building like that, especially ones as big and as important as the city castle. 

"Are... Are you royalty?" Ranboo asks, trying to think of the right term for it. 

"That is correct. I'm King Eret of Dreamland. Or... Most commonly called..." 

Ranboo really didn't know what the word Eret said next was, but it sounded like "Es-em-P'', but he didn't know how to spell it, so he would stick to Dreamland for now. Ranboo opens his mouth to ask another question, but Eret shushes him. 

"You need to eat first. But take it easy this time. I don't want you getting sick." 

The boy nods, dropping his gaze back down to the food in front of him. His stomach seemed to agree with Eret, and he started to eat.


	2. mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not really proud of this chapter tbh,,, it's just so,, well, I feel like there is something wrong with it? like I tried to fit too much stuff in it and it came out all clunky? i hope the next chapter is better thou :D

Ranboo tries to mimic the sounds that King Eret makes with his lips, but the words feel foreign in his mouth, and he can't move his jaws properly. It just feels too off. Yet, Eret tries again, slower and more pronounced. Ranboo mimics once more. 

"Can't do this," he finally says, dropping the common tongue and using what Eret called "old tongue" instead.

"You can," Eret argues, "It's just your mouth isn't used to it, yet. You have to give it time."

Ranboo let out a frustrated groan, wanting to pull at his hair and writhe in his chair. He has been giving it time, according to his notes. He's been at this for almost a month, and yet, it seems like he's getting nowhere.

"Here, how about we take a small break for right now..."

"Fine," Ranboo grumbles, staring down at his notebook, where he scribbled and doodled down his messy notes. Eret just lets out a small sigh, cleaning up the table. He doesn't let silence befall them, though.

"If you're finally comfortable enough with it, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" asks Eret. 

Ranboo nods his head, long black and white hairs falling into his face, perfect for hiding his eyes when he didn't want to be seen staring at the man.

Eret seemed to ponder his next few words, making Ranboo become noticeably more nervous, but finally, the brunette speaks, "I think it's finally time that I ask you this... But you've mentioned your memory isn't the best, correct? Can you tell me anything about yourself? Or about your time with that man? Or perhaps before that?" 

Ranbroo frowns, picking at his nails as he swishes his tail back and forth. He really doesn't want to disappoint King Eret, but no matter how hard he tries, it's hard to think of a clear picture of his time with that man or before that. By Ender, he hardly remembers what he did yesterday or the day before, or a week ago. "I don't... Hard to remember..." Ranboo flails his hands about, trying to think of the words, but it fails him. "Don't remember details," he finally explains with his limited vocabulary but is unsatisfied with his own excuse. He feels like he should be able to remember these things, but just _can't._

Eret nods his head though, seemingly satisfied with what Ranboo had said, and replies with, "You don't need to tell me details."

"Well, Uhm..." the little boy pauses, taking his time to inhale deeply. Eret said Ranboo didn't need to stress himself, that if he felt like it was too much, he could take his time, "I'm sorry, I just... Can't." His head hurts just thinking about this stuff, trying to pull apart at a memory that is hardly even there. Ranboo feels like if he tries reaching anymore for thoughts he can't grasp, he'll end up with a terrible migraine. 

Eret just smiles, sweet and a little sad, as he tells the boy that it's okay. That there will be other times where he might remember and tell Eret what he wants to know.

"Do you know how old you are? You look quite young..." 

Ranboo shakes his head. 

"What about... What are you?" 

Ranboo looks up from his nails, furrowing his brows as he processes the question in his mind. 

"I'm... Human?" the young boy answers, confusion and doubt suddenly clouding his mind. Why would King Eret ask such a question? Didn't he look like him? Look human? And it dawns on Ranboo... He doesn't remember what he looks like. When was the last time he looked at his reflection? Did he look like a monster? Was that why he had been punished and treated so bad by that man? 

He was told, after all, that monsters were hurt because they were evil. Was he evil? He didn't remember doing anything... Evil... But, then again, he doesn't remember much. It could be very possible he did something evil, and he honestly deserved all the pain he had gone through, despite what King Eret had told him. 

"It's possible you could be part human, yeah... But you're some sort of hybrid," King Eret is saying, snapping the boy from his thoughts.

"Hybrid?" 

That was a word he was unfamiliar with, but he's sure he's heard it before. 

"It's when... What's the word in this language... It's when two creatures are combined to make a new species."

"And... I'm a hybrid?"

"It's very possible, but I haven't found out yet."

Ranboo cocks his head to the side, "Yet?"

"Yes..." King Eret shifts in his chair, "I wanted to find out what you were, so I started looking into it... But I haven't found anything. I hope you don't mind." 

Ranboo is perking up suddenly, tail wagging. 

"No, please continue! Since I don't remember much about myself, you're helping me."

"That I am." 

Ranboo drops his gaze back down to his hands, looking between his and King Eret's skin. Ranboo's skin could be considered charcoal black with splotches of white dotting his skin, or from what he could see.

Ever since living here, he's been in "medical care" and has been forced to wear itchy bandages and be covered in cold salves. At least the pain had faded, and the bruises were clearing up. But his mind was getting side-tracked with trivial stuff. 

Eret's skin looked much more _human_. Sure, he's seen darker-toned humans before, so maybe this could happen, but then he compares their hands. King Eret's hands didn't have long inhumane-looking fingers and claws that could have been deadly if taken care of properly. 

Well, the man's fingers didn't look exactly human... His neatly-trimmed nails were colored black. And he's seen other humans' hands compare this to. Peeking out of the door and watching women and men walk by. Some of them have multi-colored nails too. 

And he must have been staring for too long because Eret notices where his gaze is going.

"Do you like them? The little girl at the bakery wanted to paint nails a few days ago."

"Paint... Nails?"

He knows what painting is, he's sure, because Eret showed him painting a few days ago, or at least that's what he was told. And then again earlier today. But they did those on blank canvases, not nails.

"Yes," Eret says, "Humans have this thing where we get to paint and make our nails look pretty."

Ranboo looks back at his hands, frowning again. Could he make his nails pretty? He doesn't think he can, he's not a human, and they're all uneven and already have a slight black colorization to them... And he was, after all, missing a whole nail on one of his fingers.

"I can do yours too... After your hands are healed up."

"You can?" Ranboo perks up and Eret nods his head.

"Mhm, it shouldn't be that hard. Maybe we could even get little Niki to help. I'm sure you two could become good friends."

"But I'm... I'm not human. This is a human thing..."

"Niki isn't human, either. She's an elf, and yet, she still paints her nails."

Ranboo doesn't know what an elf is, but he doesn't mention that. Maybe he looks like an elf.

"And, don't worry, it's not strictly a human thing." 

Really, Ranboo has expected Eret to yell at him already, giving him back to the faceless man who haunted his dreams. Ranboo expected the man to hit him till he was hardly breathing, to starve him until he was begging for table scraps, to do something- anything - that signified normalcy. 

He's glad Eret hasn't, but he feels like he can't get too comfortable here... Ranboo wishes he could, though. He'd like that a lot.

"Have you seen yourself?" 

"No. I don't know how." 

"Do you want to see yourself?"

And Ranboo nods his head. 

Eret gets up from his chair, walking over to Ranboo, and holds out his hand. He doesn't touch Ranboo, letting the boy come to him instead. Ranboo doesn't take his hand, but instead, he gets up and stays near the other. Eret doesn't take it personally. He knew the other was still healing, mentally and physically.

"Here is the bathroom... You're familiar with it, right?" Eret asks, and Ranboo nods his head in response. Being able to use the restroom was... New and surprising to the small boy, but it was better than doing it on himself or some dirty corner like he was used to. Eret led them into the bathroom, yet, Ranboo doesn't understand why. What could be in there that could help him see himself? 

He's not led to the toilet, nor the bathtub, but instead the 'sink'... a magical fountain with an infinite amount of water supply. 

Still not touching the boy, he tells Ranboo to look up. He's a bit hesitant to do so... because every time he has looked up, he's seen something so terrible. This is why he's started to look down every time he's entered the bathroom... but Eret is patient with him, doesn't tell him to hurry up.

Ranboo locks eyes with the same creature he's seen every single time. Mismatched eyes with slitted white pupils stare at him. The face is gaunt, with faded purple markings around one of the eyes and on the same cheek. He lifts his hand, and so does the other person. The monster always copied him. 

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Eret asks. Ranboo takes note of the other person looking at him, one who strangely looks identical to Eret in his white blouse and long green skirt. "This is called a mirror. It reflects you."

"That's... Me?"

"Yes."

Ranboo pales. The monster in the mirror was _him._ He thought he might have some human resemblance, but he doesn't! Not at all. He has two little horns coming from his forehead. His ears are all pointy and outward. And whenever he spoke, he caught a glimpse of terrible yellowed fangs and a slimy green tongue. And just like his arms, his face was a reflection of that. One half was white and the other half black, but it wasn't all that symmetrical either. There were still small splotches and dots of the opposite color on the other side. His hair mimicked this pattern but was still a whole mess he didn't want to get into.

Ranboo thinks he looks hideous. He doesn't look pretty like Eret. He wants to look pretty like Eret.

"I really am a monster," he whispers in a small voice, feeling tears building up in the corner of his eyes.

"Ranboo," Eret says, placing a hand on his shoulder, which he instantly regrets because he watches as the boy flinches in his touch, "You are not a monster-"

"But I'm not human," his sob cuts off Eret, "And those who aren't humans are _monsters_. And monsters are evil and bad and deserve death and pain." He knows he's quoting someone. Deep down, there was someone who told him this once. Might it have been the faceless man? That seemed likely, but he just doesn't know.

"No... No," Eret gently chides, wanting to embrace the other boy, "You are not a monster just because you aren't human... Those men who hurt you? They are the real monsters. You're not."

"But they- I'm..." He's suddenly embracing Eret, leaning against the brunette man who embraces him back. The man allows him to cry without telling him to shut, without yelling at him, without _hurting_ him. That just makes him cry more because King Eret is so friendly to him, so kind to him. He's whispering soft words of comfort, he's holding him close, and he's not angry at him. Ranboo so desperately wants to trust him, to hope this isn't some cruel joke or dream. He wants to stay with this man forever. 

"Are you alright?" Eret asks once Ranboo's sobs have calmed down some. The boy nods his head. The brunette gives him a comforting smile, leading the boy from the bathroom. 

"Was that the first time you saw yourself? You've been in that bathroom for quite a while..." 

Ranboo shook his head, "I... I didn't realize that was me. I thought it was a scary monster on the other side." 

"It's called a mirror, and you're not a scary monster. You're very adorable." 

The boy looks at Eret, raising an eyebrow. Adorable? That was something he's never been called before. But it must be good. 

"My hair is a mess," he decides to say.

This makes Eret chuckle a little, "That... Is true. I tried doing it for you, but you didn't react well to it."

"Can you do my hair now?"

"Are you sure?" Eret asks, laying out a book on Ranboo's side of the table, "We don't need to take things so fast." He obviously remembers the first time he tried brushing out Ranboo's hair, the way the child screamed and sobbed, begging for help as he tried to claw away.

"Yes."

Still, Eret wasn't exactly sure... So, he would compromise.

"How about tomorrow after you take a bath?" The man suggests.

Ranboo pouts out his lips a little, but he doesn't argue with Eret.

"Alright..."

"I'm sorry, bud... I just don't want to push you. I want you to feel safe and comfortable here."

Eret goes back to the table they had been sitting at earlier, taking his spot once more. 

"No, I get that," the boy murmurs, sitting across from him once, "Thank you."

"It's no problem, Ranboo." 

Though, to the boy, it does seem like a problem. He doesn't say that, though. 

"Are we going to continue working?" 

"We can if you want."

"I do, but I don't want to learn the common tongue... I wanna learn something else." 

"We can try reading. I'm sure there are a few books in the library that 

\---

Eret sat at their desk, staring at the paperwork splayed before them. They had to be very quiet, as to not wake the sleeping boy in their grand-sized bed. 

The boy's sleeping patterns were very hectic. They never knew if he would sleep alone or if he would appear at their doorway, teary-eyed, and ask to sleep with them. There were rare occasions, though, where Eret found the boy wandering around the hallways still asleep. It spooked them, at first, but they had quickly adapted to it, made sure to keep the doors locked, and that from now, this side of castle wing was closed off to everybody at night. 

Eret stretches, leaning back in their chair as a little smile crosses their face. It really had been more than a month since Ranboo started living with them, which seems so... Well, it hardly seemed possible. 

During his time here, Eret has taken it upon themself to teach the boy what they knew when they could. Which was a lot. And, they were personally looking after the boy. Nobody else in this castle actually knew that the King had brought a hybrid here. Hopefully, they never would. Because, when they would look upon Ranboo, they would see a human boy... Eret's son. At least, that's what Eret hoped they would. They still needed to talk to the little boy about this, to explain it to him, and they still needed to enchant the necklace that would hide what Ranboo really is, to disguise him as human. 

King Eret of Dreamland was seriously stretched thin with everything. 

It only seems to get more stressful when one of the few people they could 'trust' quietly enters the room.

"You've taken in a Chaos-spawn," the woman whispers, gazing at the sleeping face of the boy, "He's so young... Odd..." she leans over to touch him, but Eret is standing up. 

"Don't." 

The woman retracts her hand, standing straighter. 

"I was just doing what a Dreamer does best," she hums, making her way over to the King.

"I don't want you inside of his head," Eret argues, grabbing her by her arm and dragging her from the room. They stand outside the door, staring at each other. 

"So rude," she huffs, peeling Eret's fingers from around her arm. Blonde hair peeks out from underneath her green hood, face covered by a warped-wooden mask with a crappy white paint job. With it on, Eret couldn't get a read on her expression at all, couldn't tell her thoughts. Not that he really wanted to look into the Protector of the Nether's mind.

"I'm sorry, Drista, but I can't have you drawing attention to him by leaving your fragment in his mind. He's been through too much already." 

"You know, it'd be easier to protect him if I did that. It'll scare off any Order-born or other Chaos-spawn that would want to harm him. Hell, it could even scare off the bounty hunters that will surely come after the gods learn of him." 

"Maybe so, but I'm here. I can protect the boy." 

Drista scoffs, crossing her arms, "Your magic is pretty weak for someone of your status. Do you really think you can keep him protected? He's a child, Eret, don't forget that, and children will get curious. They will get ideas. Most of the time, bad ideas." 

"You would know, wouldn't you?" 

Despite not even being able to see her face, Eret knows right away she's pissed off. He can feel the crushing presence of her aura, like waves of boiling heat rolling off of her. 

"Don't bring that up." 

Eret sighs, rubbing their temples. 

"You're right. I'm just... Tired. Shouldn't have brought it up. Why did you come here?"

"Well, you did _send_ out a bounty for a man who dealt in illegal trafficking of hybrids! I just had to do my part... And I did, I found him. And by Chaos, do I want to kill him."

"You... Found him?" 

"Yes. I already took the liberty of entering that man's mind and infiltrating it, so you don't have to go see that scum for yourself... And from your face, I can see that you're not happy with that." 

"No, it's fine... You just didn't have to dirty your hands on my part." 

"It's fine, I don't mind... Here's everything you need to know about your hybrid," the woman says, pulling a stack of documents from underneath her cloak and holding it out. The King takes it, taking a quick glance through the papers. "Should I collect my payment now? Or do you need me to come back later?" 

"Later... I want to look through these papers first." 

"Got it, King! Well, I'll be heading out now!"

"Wait... What did you do with that man?"

"Well, he's back at my palace in the Nether. My friends are busy reprimanding him for his crimes." 

"Since he's of this world, shouldn't I be dealing with his crimes?" 

Drista giggles, shoving her hands into the pockets of her pants, "Do you really think your noble friends who deal in hybrid trafficking will turn a blind eye if you put your hand into this? I'm saving you some trouble, be grateful." 

"I am grateful, but..."

"No buts, King! Continue to do your duties and look pretty. My brother may have put you on the throne, but I will make sure you keep it. This land needs a Chaos-spawn in charge since he has abandoned his duties."

"Right... Right. If you want to go after that man's colleagues, I give your permission. I'll add more to your reward."

"I would have done it without any extra reward, y'know, but yay! I'd take it! Now, seriously, goodbye." 

"Goodbye..." 

A swirling vortex opens up behind Drista, blasting heat into the hallway. Eret flinches away, watching as the girl falls back into the portal. 

"I'll see you again, Herobrine!" she giggles, falling backward into the portal. Once again, it is silent. Nobody scuttling about, no prying eyes... Nobody was there to witness the conversation they just had. 

Eret walks back into the room, looking at the boy. They were glad that Ranboo hadn't awoken or overheard the two. That'd be a lot of explaining he didn't want to do at the moment. 

Once more, the brunette takes a seat at their chairs, displaying the documents before him. They're written in Drista's neat handwriting, with little doodles here and there when she got bored with copying down everything. Just like a child... They let themself laugh quietly. 

They skip most of the documents, deciding that they will reread that later, but first, they want to get to the bits about. 

From what he could summarize, Ranboo had been found eleven years ago roughly, abandoned in a basket with a letter and a blanket in a forest. The man had decided to wait until the boy was older to auction him off but had unintentionally got attached in the worst way and kept the boy he saw as a pet... Something popped out to Eret, though. A good thing in this mess of bad things... The boy was part endermen, but no matter how hard the man looked into it, he couldn't find out what his other half was. 

Drista didn't go into much detail about what happened to the boy, but he got the general idea that he wasn't treated well, even if she skipped over that part. And after reading about everything there was about Ranboo, Eret felt disgusted. And maybe they should have gone to bed at that time, rest up and let their mind take a break, but they just couldn't.

They still had a pile of work to do, needed to read through everything that Drista gave them, had to think of Ranboo's lessons for tomorrow, and find a time when they weren't busy so that they could visit Niki. But they also had to have that amulet done before that so Ranboo could go out. 

They continued working in silence.


	3. bubble baths & confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poggers. i guess. Bro, all this lore is confusing. Please, if you need me to clear something up, ask :D i'd love to answer any questions you have about this AU

"Uhm... Eret, I have a confession," Ranboo mumbles.

"Yea? What is it?" Eret asks, looking away from the bathtub that was running water. 

"I've never taken a bath... Or a shower. The water... It, Uhm, well, it kinda hurts me, and I don't understand why, but I haven't been able to do any of that." 

Eret tilts her head before she realizes why. Part endermen meant that water would burn him, just like it would for any endermen. She wants to smack her forehead for not realizing this sooner. 

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I never wanted to bother you..." Ranboo admits, staring warily at the water. 

"It's alright... You can tell me or ask me anything, alright? You'll never bother me." 

Ranboo just shrugs his shoulders, "But I should have said something sooner because now you've got a bath all ready for me..." 

"No! Don't worry, Ranboo, I have a solution." 

Eret leaves the little hybrid by himself for a little bit, coming back a few minutes later with a glass bottle in his hands. 

"What's that?" he asks, gaping at the bottle. He can feel something coming from it, like... Well, he didn't know what it was like. He just knew he was drawn to it.

"It's a potion. Very similar to a water breathing potion, but with this, you can take a bath." And Ranboo doesn't really understand how it'll help him, but he doesn't question her as she pours the bottle into the bath. It forms little rainbow translucent bubbles, "I also added some small stuff to make it a bubble bath." 

Ranboo has never had a bubble bath before, but it looks super fun. 

"Here... Dip your finger in here. But just your finger." 

"Because it might not exactly work?" 

Eret nods her head, "And I don't want to exactly hurt you more, you know?" Ranboo understands, and he won't blame Eret if the potion doesn't work. At least she's trying for him. He dips his finger into the potion-filled bath, feeling the water. It was hot, but it didn't burn him as it would formerly. 

"It works!" Ranboo announces happily. With this, he would be able to clean himself properly! He wouldn't need to scrub himself down with a rag and pass that off a bath, wouldn't need to quickly wet his head to make it look like he showered, and both those things still had hurt him...

"Alright, are you ready? The bath is almost filled," Eret asks him, leaning over to turn off the running water.

"Yep!" 

"Okay, I'm going to step out for a bit and let you get unchanged. If you need help with your bandages, let me know." 

"I will!" Ranboo replies excitedly. 

\---

"Are you sure...?" Eret asks again, for like the third time. To which Ranboo answers with a nod of his head once more. 

"I'm sure. I want pretty clean hair like you." 

"Alright... Just tell me if it gets too much."

"I will!" 

Eret fingers are gentle as she runs through Ranboo's tangled and wet hair with soap. The boy is a bit tense, wondering when the pulling and yanking will begin, and he feels like he should know that it won't be coming, but he can't help how his mind thought. 

And yet, Eret only keeps the gentle pace of rubbing in the lovely-smelling soap. 

She continues this in silence as Ranboo slowly relaxes into the warm water, which he still wonders how this water can be hot, and closes his eyes. After a bit, Eret's hand retracts from his hair. 

"I'm going to rinse the soap out, okay? Make sure your eyes stay close."

"Rinse?"

"Yes, I'm going to pour water on your head. Are you okay with that?" 

Ranboo shifts a little, thinking it over, before nodding his head, "Just... Don't do it too quickly. Please."

"Don't worry, I won't." 

And Ranboo feels warm water run down his face, feels the soap in his ears, feels it rinsing down his skin. And Eret continues to rinse the water out until all the soap is gone. Until all the dirt and grime has been washed out. 

"There we go," Eret says, getting up from her knees, "Would you like to continue bathing while you can? Or do you wanna get out now?" Ranboo feels the gentle touch of cloth rubbing the water from his face, and he waits for it to leave before he responds. 

"I want to stay in here for a few more minutes, please... It's so nice..." 

"Of course, just let me know if you need anything," Eret says, dropping the cloth onto the counter before heading from the room.

"Alright!"

Once Eret has left the room, Ranboo splashes about in the water, playing with the bubbles and rolling about. The bathtub was big, he could stretch out his limbs, and his toes wouldn't touch the other side of the tub. And for the first time in a while, he finally acted like the child he never got to be. He played pretend like he was a sea captain selling a grand boat like from the stories that Eret read to him. Or, making a crown out of bubbles, he pretended he was a king of a large and vast country. And the time flew by, even if he was by himself. Honestly, he didn't even realize how much time actually went by until suddenly, there were hardly any soap bubbles left. The water temperature had also started to become increasingly hotter. 

Even Eret came in, looking a little concerned as she told him, "The potion effect might be wearing off. You should get out now." 

He didn't really want to get out. He still had oceans to sail. He needs to rule his kingdom, but yet, the water was starting to become unbearable as the seconds ticked by. 

"Alright," he gave in, climbing from the tub and allowing Eret to wrap a big and comfy towel around him. He was quickly dried off and ushered into the large room that they shared. 

"It seems your wounds are healing up nicely... You might not need to wear bandages anymore," Eret comments, handing Ranboo some clothes. 

"Really?" 

Eret nods her head as confirmation and, despite how sad he was about having to get out of the bath, he was a little giddy about this. The bandages made him itch, and he hated that, and now they were gonna go!

He quickly changes into the clothes she brought him, watching as she walks around to collect some things, keeping her back to him. 

"You decent?" she asks, once she seemingly found all the things she needed. 

"Yep." 

"Okay! Take a seat at one of the chairs," she tells him, setting down a few items he barely recognizes. He sits at the table where they always did his schoolwork, still keeping his eyes on her. Until she was standing right behind him. 

"I'm going to try to detangle your hair, okay? It might pull or hurt a bit but just let me know."

Ranboo nods his head, looking down at his fingers and scrunching up his nose as to how wrinkly they had gotten. 

Eret runs her fingers through his hair a couple of times before she's grabbing a brush. The first stroke makes him freeze up, and it instantly has gotten caught in a tangle. 

She doesn't try again until she asks if he's okay, and he responds with a small "yeah''. And even then, they make no progress. His hair is just too messy. 

"I'm going to have to cut it short, is that alright?" 

"Cut it?" 

"Mhm. Cutting your hair means making it shorter but don't worry, if you want long hair, it'll grow back."

"Will it hurt?"

"Maybe a little, but it won't hurt too much, I promise." 

Ranboo allows her to cut his hair, and she does, cutting off quite a few inches and all the way up to his jawline, maybe even a little shorter. Afterward, she brushes out whatever tangles are left and dries his hair off a little more. 

"Okay, you can go take a look in the mirror while I clean up this mess." 

Ranboo wastes no time pushing himself off the chair and racing to the bathroom, only stopping in his tracks when Eret tells him to be careful while running on a wet floor.

"Sorry," he tells her.

"It's alright," she chuckles, waving him off to continue what he was going to do.

He walks into the bathroom and to the sink, where he knew the mirror was. Ranboo steps on the stool, placed in there for him because he was still a little too short to see himself all the way, and looks to the mirror. He stares at himself in the reflective glass. For once, his hair actually looks white and not a dirty white. And it's clean and short so that when he runs his fingers through it, it goes through all easily and stuff. His head also felt lighter, which was really pleasant. 

"I love it," he says and then repeats himself for good measure. 

When he walks back out to Eret, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her, he tells her this. He tells her how much he loves it and how thankful he is for everything she's done. Ranboo might have started to cry, but he can't help nor stop it, and she doesn't tell him to stop, so he continues. 

"I'm glad you like it so much... You look good. Proper and handsome." 

"Do I really?" 

"Yep!" 

Eret ruffles his head, a fond smile on her face, "Now that you're all cleaned up, we can start schoolwork." 

It's a day or two later when Eret has this look on her face as she tells Ranboo they need to talk about something. This makes him nervous, and out of habit, he starts picking at his fingers. 

"Is it... Bad? Am I in trouble?"

"No! No... Don't worry. You're not in trouble. But if you're not ready, I can wait." 

"You said it was important..."

"Yes, but if you're not comfortable..." 

"You're not going to push me," Ranboo finishes for her, "I get it... No, it's alright. We can talk about it."

"Alright. C'mon, let's take a seat." 

And they do. Ranboo is still understandably nervous, scared even. He knows he shouldn't be. He wasn't going to be in trouble, but... The boy sighs, placing his hands in his lap. 

"What is it?" 

"We found the man..." Eret is saying, but Ranboo only tilts his head in confusion. "The man?" he asks.

"The one who hurt you..." 

Eret notices the moment where Ranboo realizes what she's talking about. She isn't blind to the quickened breathing, the way he tenses up, his mouth opening and closing as he tries to find the words to speak. And when he does, his voice is so small and scared, "Are... Are you going to give me back to him? I... I don't want to go back... Please..." 

"No! No... No... Don't worry, we're not going to give you back to him," Eret quickly reassures, "Let me explain... He's never going to hurt you ever again, but we also find out some things about you... Would you like to hear them?" 

"I-... Yes, please, King Eret." 

"You're part enderman, for starters. That man never figured out your other half, but that would explain why water hurts you the way it does..."

"Enderman?" 

"I'll tell you more about them in our lessons, alright? That's not the only thing, though... This is a bit hard to hear about, Ranboo, but you deserve to know, okay?"

Ranboo nods his head, unable to look at anything else other than the King.

"You were found, alone, in a forest... Roughly eleven years ago." 

Ranboo wants to ask multiple different questions, but he doesn't know where to begin. He doesn't understand why Eret had put such an emphasis on alone. Or why, deep down, it hurt him quite a bit. 

"Here is the letter that was left with you." 

She slides over a white envelope, stained with dirt. 

"If you need help reading it, please let me know." 

Ranboo opens the letter, pulling out the yellowed piece of paper and frowning. 

"I can't read this at all." 

He hands it to Eret, who takes it. He watches as her eyebrows raise. 

"It's in the old tongue... You can't read that?"

"No..." 

"But you can speak it?"

"Apparently?" 

Eret chuckles, trying to lighten up the mood, and asks, "Would you like me to teach it to you before reading it?"

"No... Please read it now." 

She nods her head, letting out a small cough, before starting, 

"Dear Hardcore, 

This child cannot stay here with me any longer in the End. His difference has brought unwanted attention to him from the gods and my younger brother. As Protector of the End, I cannot let anything befall the only place of protection for the Chaos-spawn. Please raise him for me. I know you have experience raising Chaos-spawn and hiding them, so this should be a simple task for you. Please do not let my brother find him. Protect him at all costs.

From, X"

Eret didn't know who this Hardcore was, but she definitely recognized the X signature. 

"I... I don't really understand," Ranboo admits, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just been reading. "Hardcore? Protect me? Was Hardcore that man? Was he trying to protect me? And who's X? What is the End? Chaos-spawn?" he just let question after question spill out, fear and anxiety spiking through him. 

If the faceless man was supposed to protect him and Eret took him away, did that mean he was in danger now? Should he be worried, should he run away? Get faraway from this King? 

"First off, I don't think that man is the person known as Hardcore... It might have been another Chaos-spawn, but they found you first... I..." Eret rereads the letter over and over, wondering if she missed something important. And maybe, Eret thinks, she should have waited until Ranboo was much older. He'd be able to understand better. But she worried that if she waited too long, Ranboo would resent her. And after all, she didn't have the right to withhold this sort of information from the boy. He deserved to know. 

"I don't understand..." Ranboo mutters, tapping his foot against the ground, "It didn't give much an explanation. Just told this Hardcore person to protect me... I thought... I..." The boy was seriously at a loss for words, not knowing how to continue this thought. 

"King Eret, who is X?" 

"Well, as he said in this letter, he's the Protector of the End... And the End is this sort of dimension, much like the Nether, where you can visit via portals... It's well, from what I've heard, it's endless and ruled completely by Chaos. Creatures of Chaos live there, they worship Chaos, and they are natural-born enemies of Order. It... Well, it isn't the best place for the people of the Overworld or Order-born." 

"And what are Chaos and Order?" Ranboo asks, feeling as if he should know what these words mean, but he just doesn't, and it frustrates him. He doesn't know anything that he SHOULD know. 

"Chaos and Order are... Well, they're above gods. They are said to have created the gods. They're primordial beings that are also rumored to not exist anymore... That is, if they ever existed... It's debated, really. I mean, there is evidence that they did exist within... their "children''. Chaos-spawn and Order-born," Eret explains or at least tries her best to do so to the boy. 

Ranboo is still confused, and he so desperately wished he wasn't... He wants to understand what Eret is talking about. 

"I don't get it," the boy mumbles. 

"I can change around your schedule, start teaching you about this. Help you understand your heritage."

"Please." 

And so it's settled, even with Ranboo still having a million questions swimming around his head. Eret let him keep the letter, saying that it belonged to him, that it was his. Ranboo has never owned anything, and even if it was a crappy old letter that made his brain hurt, it was still valuable to him. 

"And there's two other things... If you think you can handle more things..." 

The mismatched boy looks up from his journal, where he was recording what happened, and says, "Is it good... Or bad?"

"Good, mostly." 

"I think... I can handle it." 

Eret doesn't look at him, continuing to do her thing. "I've been working on this enchanted necklace for you... It will make you appear more human." 

"How come?" Ranboo frowns, tilting her head to the side. He thought being a hybrid was okay, but if he had to look human, did that mean it wasn't? 

"To put it gently, hybrids aren't the best treated in this country... Some people will always be stuck in their old ways... But an enderman hybrid? I wouldn't want you to get hurt when you're finally able to leave this castle..." 

Ranboo nods his head. He gets it, sort of. Probably one of the few things he did get, honestly.

"You're just trying to protect me, so it's alright. I don't mind." 

"That's not the only thing, either... You've been here for quite a while, and I've... Well, I want you to live here, with me. You don't have to accept this, of course. You're free to leave, just let me finish this enchantment first, but I'd be honored if you'd stay." 

Ranboo's eyes widened, his jaw-dropping. "Really?" he asks, his unhappy mood quickly melting with a more excited one replacing it, "Do you really want me to stay? I'd love to!" 

"That's good! I'm glad! I'd also love to welcome you... As my family? If that's alright with you..." 

"Family...?" 

Ranboo has never had a family before. This would be new for him if he accepted. It'd be new and exciting, and he'd love it. To have someone to depend on, to love him unconditionally... But then the boy starts to think. He'd only been around for a month or two. Things could change. What if Eret changed her mind? What if she decided she didn't want him anymore? What if she threw him out to this big scary world that would apparently hate him? 

He opens his mouth and says something he doesn't hope he regrets, "I... Need to think about it... Please." 

He expects her to look disappointed, to give up on him, but she doesn't. She keeps her smile on her face and says, "Take all the time you need." 

And Ranboo does. 

His lessons continued as usual over the next few days, which turn into weeks. And during that time, he tries really hard on the common tongue, on the history of Chaos, and on everything that will help him know who he truly is. He gets better at it, despite what he previously thought. Now, he finds himself switching between the common tongue and the old tongue much more effortless. And he's starting to understand the world around him... All thanks to Eret, who is trying really hard for him.

Ranboo feels terrible when he sees how the man slouches as if he hasn't gotten a decent sleep. The way he stares off, going quiet and forgetting what they were doing for a few minutes. Ranboo knows that Eret has a lot of work and duties of the King. He knows because he's not blind to it. He's seen the work on his desk, felt the hours creep by before Eret would crawl into bed next to him. So, Ranboo tries his best to keep his area tidy, to make sure all his clothes are folded neatly, just to do anything that will help Eret out... Notably, since the servants weren't allowed in the room anymore.

They couldn't know about Ranboo's existence.

But also, being confined to this room, no matter how large it was, was starting to get to Ranboo. He'd sit by the window, feeling the chilly wind on his skin, and stare off into the too-large city. He wanted to play in the pretty gardens or with other children and not be alone anymore, mainly when Eret was out. 

Maybe he wouldn't be alone for much longer, though, staring down at his nail that was slowly growing back. Soon, he'd be able to have pretty nails and talk to this Niki girl and be able to walk the streets with Eret by his side... It made the small boy just giddy thinking about it. 

He had also been considering what Eret had said... Did he really want them to be family? Or was it just so that it wouldn't look suspicious to have a random boy around? Ranboo desperately wants the first one to be true so that he could finally have a family that he's been reading about in all these books. That's why he decides to take a leap of faith, to assuredly accept the proposal when Eret gets back from the meeting he was in. 

He just hoped it wouldn't backfire in his face.


	4. little niki and her family

TW Warning: PTSD Flashbacks 

\---

"I look..." Ranboo stares into the mirror, scrunching up his very human face, "Weird." Because his face actually wasn't very human. His eyes remained the same as they would be if he were in his other form. And his teeth were horrendous, all sharp and scary fangs. At least he had a normal-looking tongue... 

"It seems I missed something," Eret says, crossing his arms, "Damn..."

"Does this mean I can't go out?" 

The boy looks upset, brunette hair falling into his face. 

"No! Wait-" 

Eret leaves for a few minutes, only to return with glasses similar to his own and a mask. 

"Wear these." 

"That'll work?" he asks, sliding on the shades. Everything was darkened for sure, but looking in the mirror, he knew they couldn't see what his eyes looked like. Eret helps him with the face mask, which only covers the lower part of his face.

"Woah! I look like I'm undercover!" the little boy laughs.

"Well, technically, you are."

The little boy is giddy, staring at himself in the mirror still. 

"So with this, I can leave?"

Eret nods and goes to get ready themselves. 

This will be the first time in a long time since Ranboo left the room and been around other people. He was nervous, picking at his nails while he followed behind Eret with his head down. He didn't say anything, listening to Eret chatter like a pretty songbird.

\---

Somehow Ranboo had moved even closer to Eret, holding their hand in his, after leaving the castle. Multiple times Eret had reassured them that everything was okay, that they wouldn't be getting hurt, but Ranboo still had to be on the safe side. 

And anyway, even if he wasn't looking, he could still feel peoples' eyes on him. They were staring at him, maybe wondering who this kid was with the king. 

It made him squirm in the royal outfit he was wearing, which before he thought looked cool but was now suffocating.

"Just a bit further," Eret promises. 

Ranboo nods his head mutely, squeezing tightly onto the other's hand for comfort. 

Soon, they come upon a beautifully decorated road.

"Welcome to the shopping district," The King tells him. 

"Pretty," Ranboo mumbles, looking up from the colorfully paved road to all the buildings and little stalls. It was very crowded here, much more so than the other roads they took. But there were no carriages about, no smelly horses. Eret explained to Ranboo that the shopping district was usually very packed, so people weren't allowed to bring their carriages here, or it would cause a commotion, and someone might get hurt.

"And... Here we are." 

Ranboo squints his eyes, trying to read out the common language on the sign. He still wasn't the best at it, so Eret read that out to him as well.

"Warm Delights," they say, leading Ranboo in, "Niki and her family own this bakery." 

"You've talked about Niki before," the little boy says, finding it simpler to speak in the common tongue with a human mouth rather than the wonky enderman mouth he used to have. 

"King Eret," a woman gaps, looking up from the person she was talking to, "I wasn't expecting you to come today-" 

"Don't worry about it," Eret smiles, gesturing to Ranboo," This is Ranboo. He's finally well enough to start walking around, so I'm showing him around the kingdom... Isn't that right little buddy?" 

Ranboo nods his head vigorously, though he doesn't understand what Eret means by "well enough"... Sure, he wasn't the healthiest when he was brought to the castle, but that was months ago. He was better now. Though, he won't question. Eret knows what they're doing, and he'd best just go along with it. 

"Oh! That's Ranboo? He looks just like you," the woman compliments, beaming down at the boy, who feels himself growing hot with embarrassment. 

"He does, doesn't he?" 

Eret smiles fondly down at Ranboo, fingers hesitant as they run them through his brunette hair. 

"I was wondering if we could meet Niki?" 

"Yeah, of course! She's out in the garden."

The woman went back to attending her customer, and Ranboo followed Eret past them and out through a door into a small enclosed area. There was a variety of fruits and vegetables growing, along with multiple different flowers. 

"Eret!" a girl giggles, running up to the older man with her arms outstretched, "You're here!" She stops, seeing a smaller boy cowering behind the tall man. "Who's this?" she leans forward, eyes widening as she observes him.

"This is Ranboo. Do you remember me talking about him?" 

"Your son?" 

"Well-" 

But Niki wasn't paying attention. She was an excitable little girl and was right next to Ranboo in an instant. "Hello! I'm Niki! It's very nice to meet you, Ranboo! I'm so glad you're feeling well!" 

Ranboo doesn't know how to react, stiffening as he stares at her hands that held some flowers. He feels all flustered, unable to open his mouth and get a word out. 

"Nice... to meet you too," Ranboo finally mumbles before hiding behind Eret once more. 

"He's a bit shy," Eret cautioned, clasping a hand fondly onto Niki's shoulder, "Give him some time."

"Oh! Sorry," she apologizes, one of her pointed ears doing a little twitch, "How long will you two be staying?" 

"For a few hours... Just so you two can get to know each other. I also have some business with your parents."

"Alright. Then I'll steal Ranboo." 

The little boy's eyes widened at that, and he clings onto Eret, "Don't let her steal me, please!" he whispers, shoving his face into their shirt.

"She's not actually going to steal you," Eret promises, running their fingers lovingly through Ranboo's hair as they usually did when they wanted to calm him down. 

"Alright..." he mumbles, reluctantly letting go of Eret, "But if she does, please come save me." 

"I will don't worry. Oh, and Niki... Ranboo doesn't do well with physical contact... Please be careful." 

Her eyes widen just a little, but she's nodding her hand. 

"You two have fun." 

"C'mon, Ranboo, you can help finish watering the garden." 

She's careful not to get too close to him, Eret's warning in her mind, as she leads him over to the unwatered bit of the garden.

The boy helps, listening to everything she has to tell him, but he finds it hard to talk to her or make eye contact with her at all. He even flinches away when she comes near, but the girl is gentle. She never touches him, and her voice is always soft and calming. 

Ranboo really likes talking to her, even if it makes him flustered and he can't really make eye contact. And she doesn't even ask why he wears a silly mask or sunglasses, just saying he looks cool in them. And she never makes it awkward when he doesn't respond, just continuing to talk to make up for the lack of silence. 

Niki could only find so many things to talk about, though, and it got weird when she asked, "So, Eret is your father, yeah? Are you adopted? I haven't seen or heard about you before..." She's setting up the watering cans while he had been admiring the pretty flowers that had been painted on them. 

"Ad...Adopt..." his mouth tried to form the syllables, and it took a few retries before he finally got the word 'Adopted' out. 

"Yea..." she messes with something idly, "Y'know, where you're not actually his child, but he took you in as his own." 

Ranboo doesn't really know how to answer this, which isn't that unusual, but this one was harder than the others. Eret had offered to be his family a few months ago... He hadn't accepted yet, said he needed time to think.

"I...-" 

"Niki! Ranboo! C'mere!" Niki's mother is calling from the door. 

The boy is suddenly happy for the distraction, racing from the shed as quickly as he could. 

The bakery had been closed down a few hours after Eret's arrival, but yet, her mother had continued to bake, making them a pie and asking her husband to fetch a fresh bottle of cold milk. 

Ranboo decides that Mrs. Eberhart has some of the best baking around (even though he's only had the servants baking). He tries to savor the pumpkin pie as much as he can, but it's gone in seconds before he can help himself.

"Do you want another?" Mrs. Eberhart asks, sipping on her glass of milk. 

"May I...?"

"Of course, dear." 

Mr. Eberhart chuckles, cutting another slice for the boy. 

"You're going to spoil him," Eret playfully puts in, finishing his plate. 

"Well, someone has to! You've locked him away for nearly far too long! Look how pale he is." 

Ranboo flushes from embarrassment, ducking his head quickly as he scoops up a mouthful of pumpkin pie. He didn't think he was _that_ pale but considering his complexion compared to Niki's or Mr. and Mrs. Eberhart... He was definitely much whiter. He furrows his brows, giving his head a small shake.

This wasn't even what he actually looked like. 

"We'll be going now," Eret says when they finish up their meal, "But we'll be back soon... Won't we, Ranboo?" 

"Yes!" he nods his head, holding onto Eret's hand, "Um... Thank you. For the pie..."

"It's not a problem, dear. Goodbye now." 

"Bye, Ranboo and Eret!" 

"Cya," Mr. Eberhart pipes up, finishing up dishes. 

"Bye-Bye," the little kid mumbles shyly. 

"Goodbye," the brunette waves, walking from the cute little bakery and into the chilly dusk air. Ranboo lets out a small shiver, huddling close to Eret. 

"We are going to come back, right...?" 

"Of course... You want to. And now that we have a solution to the problem, you can go outside really anytime you want... Though, I am going to have to hire a supervisor and all."

The older man is just mumbling to himself now as they walk down the street, and Ranboo doesn't really understand much of what he's saying, but it's comforting, none-the-less. 

Ranboo loves his newfound freedom and the fact that he can take showers now. He loves playing out in the royal gardens, loves his new tutor, loves testing all the sweats Niki and her family bakes... 

That's why he approaches Eret one night, face wet with burning tears and snot leaking from his nose. The man welcomes the younger boy into his bed, cradling him and whispering comforting words. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I..." Ranboo sobs out, tail and ears drooping as he buries his face into the silky fabric, "I want to be your family. I want what Niki has. Please... Please... Accept me..." 

Eret holds onto the other tightly, patting his back and saying, "Of course I accept you. I don't know if you remember, but I told you a while back that we could be family if you wanted... And I've never stopped wanting to be your family." 

"Really?" 

Ranboo looks up at him through blurred eyes, wincing when he comes into contact with the completely white eyes, a feature he'd found out some time ago after Eret revealed it to him. It was still a little unnerving, but it had made him feel less alone because even Eret, the King of a great kingdom, had a flaw. 

"Yes, really... " 

Ranboo lets out another sob, claws digging into any perch he can get. 

"I love you too- Thank you so much..." 

The boy had cried himself to sleep, curled up at Eret's side. He didn't have the heart to carry him back to his bed, and it's not like this would be the first time Ranboo had crawled into his bed. Surely wouldn't be the last. 

\---

"I'm glad you could all make it to this council meeting," King Eret begins, taking a seat at the large throne. Ranboo stands at his side, aware of all the eyes on him. He wants to run and hide, but he can't. This is very important, and he doesn't want to make Eret look bad. 

"So, what is it, Your Majesty?" 

Eret smiles wide and gestures to Ranboo, "This is my heir, my long-lost son. His name is Ranboo." His voice is loud and booming, making sure everybody in the room heard him. Ranboo bites down onto his lip, trying not to flinch away.

"That's the boy you've been rumored parading around with? _Your son?"_ some old man asks. All their eyes are now on him. 

He's practiced for this, though. He knows Eret has to get loud to show his authority. He knows that they were going to stare at him, judge him. He knows, so why doesn't his body react as he wants it to? 

Ranboo stares at the ground without really looking, he doesn't know what's going on, but the noises around him become muted. Maybe he could block everything out, pretend he wasn't in this situation that made him uncomfortable. He's done it before back in that place where he was meant to be sold. 

His thoughts only spiral downwards from them. Because, he wonders, was this actually happening? Was he actually being officially about to be seen as King Eret's son? Or had this all been some crazy fantasy? Had he dreamed of all this so he wouldn't be aware of the pain and torture he could be enduring right now? 

Ranboo thinks he hits the nail on the head when he looks up and finds himself in a dimly lit cell. He lets out a heart-wrenching scream, falling over his feet as he tries to find the cell doors. He scrambles around in the darkness, his heart beating in his chest as he only grasps as darkness. 

Ranboo's breathing stutters, and he presses himself against the wall. The hybrid lets out a small sob, wanting to curl up into a ball, but there's a hand reaching towards him, and he needs to get away from that first, but he's trapped. There's a wall behind him, and he flinches away when the hand touches his shoulder. Ranboo is bringing his hands up to his face to protect himself from getting beaten. Because that's what's about to happen for sure. He's going to be hit until he can't walk, and then he's going to have to be dragged around by his hair, which in his dreams, was nice and clean and- 

"Ranboo, it's me, Eret. Your father. Not those terrible men. You're safe. It's alright. " 

That... That doesn't sound like the man who'd hurt him. And the grip on his shoulder didn't hurt him... No, it was comforted. And the voice was soft and gentle, a whisper among talks. It was the loudest sound to Ranboo as the ringing in his ears faded, as he came to realize that he wasn't back in that horrible cell. He wouldn't be getting sick off of eating moldy bread, and his throat wouldn't be burning from the stale water he was forced to drink.

"Eret..." Ranboo murmurs, focusing on the man in front of him, "Eret... It's you." 

"Yes... It's me. You're here. At the castle. You're safe," the man repeats, keeping his tone soft. 

They're on the ground, kneeling. Ranboo doesn't remember how they got onto the floor. 

"I was back... Back at the cell. I was alone. Hurting. There was shouting..." he whispers, clinging onto the man as if his life depended on it, "I... But I wasn't really, was I? I ruined this for you, didn't I?" the boy whispers, feeling tears well up in the corner of his eyes. 

"No... No... Don't worry," he hushes, rubbing the kid's back, "Are you with me completely?" 

"Yeah... Yeah, I think so," Ranboo mumbles, allowing himself to be helped up.

"You did good, son, but I shouldn't have overwhelmed you so quickly... You there, elf, please show Prince Ranboo back to his room while I finish addressing the council." 

The servant is quick to do the job, careful not to touch Ranboo as she helps him from the room. 

"What's wrong with your son?" an elder speaks up, glowering at the king, thinly veiled poison laced within his words. Eret had to choose his words carefully now. 

"My son was rescued from smugglers who wanted to use him against me... We only recently rescued him, and he's been healing... That's why I haven't told you about him yet." 

"But we're your council. You have to trust us with this stuff," the elder fires back. 

"And I do, but you would have demanded to see him, and at the time, that would have overwhelmed even more. Just now, he had a breakdown. Please understand that I'm doing this for his health."

"How do we know this is your son and not some orphan pulled from the streets. Should we forget how against you were with marriage?" 

"I admit that it is odd that I never mentioned him before, but I swear, he is my son. He is a bastard-" 

"So, he cannot be your heir!" the elder snaps, "He's not even a full-blooded-" 

"I claim him as my heir!" Eret shouts, cutting off the elder, "His mother might be some kitchen servant or some royal lady from a different House or even kingdom. It doesn't change that he is what he is. He's my son." 

"Beautiful speech," a horned man speaks up, pushing himself off of the wall he leaned on, "Really. Amazing, but that doesn't change the fact of what we just witnessed. Your boy had a breakdown-" 

"I'll stop you right there, Schlatt. He's been through much... It's only fair for him to have some issues. As I said, he's been healing, and he will only continue to heal, but we must give him time."

Schlatt keeps his arms crossed, staring at the king. It seems he doesn't have much to say after that. Only he does because Schlatt never knows how to stop talking. 

"You'll need to hire him a private guard to protect him from smugglers. Could I suggest Puffy?" 

"The girl from your House?" 

"Yes. Puffy has been training a lot lately, in fact... This will be a wonderful chance to show it off." 

"I've heard about that, but she's still quite young..." 

Eret stiffens as he becomes guarded. What was Schlatt's game here? It seemed most reasonable that he might be trying to get a spy into the castle for his House... And that wasn't even the main issue. Puffy was still considerably young, which meant she was still very inexperienced... If an assassin snuck in to kill Ranboo, would she be able to suitably protect him? Why was he considering Puffy at all? 

"And that's perfect! Your boy is still young. He doesn't need some stoic knight... He needs someone around his age who'll get him! Who he will enjoy being around." 

Eret slumps back onto his throne, which he should have done minutes ago, and says, "Send Puffy here. I will allow her to work under me for a week, and if she proves herself, I will allow her to stay. But I will be hiring another much more experienced fighter and an actual knight to help in case of emergencies." 

"Might I suggest someone, Your Majesty," a noble speaks up. 

"You may..." King Eret sighs.

\---

Ranboo waited patiently for Eret and was thrilled to see him. 

"I'm so sorry," the boy says almost immediately, clutching the amulet in his hands, "I... I don't know what happened."

"It's alright, Ranboo, hush... Everything went well. You're going to have a guard watching over you soon. Her name is Puffy, alright? She's young like you, so I'm sure you'll too get along smoothly." 

The hybrid nods his head, opening his mouth to speak before clamping it shut only a second later.

"If you have something to tell me, you don't have to hold back," Eret says, smoothing down his wild hair. 

"Are... Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well..." Ranboo shifts, feeling a comb being run through his black and white hair, "I was wondering that since... since you called me son... back there... If it'd be alright if I called you..." he mumbled something that Eret didn't hear.

"Repeat that, please?" 

"Dad... Or Mom- Whichever one you prefer... But.. Uhm, well, Niki calls her parents that and well..." Ranbo gestures with his hands as if that would get the point across as he rambles, "So I thought I could be able to call you that... Because well... I..." 

Eret just smiles at him, waiting for him to finish before saying, "You can call me that. Dad or Mom... If that's what you really want to do." 

"It is. It is what I want to do... Dad," he says the word and then repeats it as he has a habit of doing. It feels... Right when he says it. He likes it. And he sees the way Eret looks when he says it. His eyes are shining, and his usually small smile grows. And he just knows that he likes it too. 

“Thank you,” he murmurs. He has so much to thank Eret for that words could never make up for.


	5. Epilogue

Ranboo has never had a family before Eret. Before Eret, he had nobody to teach him how to speak correctly. Or how to follow the rules, or how to walk, or to swim, or to read. He's never had anybody to eat dinner with, share a bed with when he got too scared... It was still bizarre to him, even after all these years, but he's so happy he has one now. And he thinks, when he's alone some nights, that he doesn't deserve it. He thinks he doesn't deserve the soft smiles Eret gives him or how patient the man is with him when he doesn't remember something... Sometimes, he still views himself as a horrible monster who deserved to be chained up and beat.

But he gets better as the years go by. 

Because he has Eret, who is his parent. His first ever parent. Ranboo has Niki, who was like a sister to him, who painted his nails, braided his growing hair. She taught him about flowers, taught him about gardening. Ranboo learned he really liked dirt, and she encouraged his love. And they were there for each other when her parents passed. Lost had been a new concept to Ranboo at the time, and it was hard to deal with it, but he had people there for him. 

And then there was Puffy. At first, he didn't really trust her, but they grew close as she proved herself to him. She was brave, smart, and kind. She was also one of the first hybrids he actually met outside of servants. She became family too. It was one of the best moments in his life when all three of them, Niki, Ranboo, and Puffy, hung out. 

Eret even went as far as to get him a unique teacher, one that would teach him magic, about enderman, and all his powers. It was a mushroom fairy named George. He was a bit odd and sometimes never showed up, or sometimes he showed up with his friends. Those were pretty fun times as well. 

And maybe his life wasn't all perfect. Ranboo still had moments where he thought he was back in a cell with shackles, where the boy couldn't control his breathing, where Ranboo woke from night-terrors, but he wouldn't give this life up for a different one.

He was happy. He was content.

Weird how quickly that could change. 

\---

Getting lost in thoughts while on the busy street of the market district was a bad idea for the tall and lanky boy as somebody bumps into him, making him spill his basket of fruits. 

"Oh- I'm so sorry!" he gasps, kneeling down to pick up the fruits, but not before making eye-contact with a pair of dark blue eyes that send him sprawling backward in a fit of fear. 

"Are you alright?" the little boy asks, tilting his head to the side as he looks with a mixture of amusement and genuine worry. Ranboo just stutters out a few words, trying to focus on the boy's hands instead of his face. 

This boy felt wrong, all wrong. There was a horrible aura coming from him. He could feel the festering anger of an enderman, who's long been since denied his prey, the overwhelming force of a father who wanted to protect his little lamb at any cost... But deep down, past all the Chaos and Order, was something else; something he  **_ needed  _ ** to break, to tear apart in his claws and watch bleed and squirm and writhe. Ranboo wanted to hurt the boy, and it was such a violent thought that he has to shake his head just as fiercely to get these thoughts to die down.

"Tubbo," comes a voice, an older man looming over the two, "What did you do?" 

"Huh?" the boy known as Tubbo whirls around to face the other man, "I didn't do anything this time- Well, sorta. But it's not my fault." 

The man raises an eyebrow before looking to Ranboo and holding out a hand, "I'm sorry about my boy. He never watches where he's going. He didn't hurt you, did he?" 

"I'm..." Ranboo swallows, ignoring the hand that was reaching out to him and helping himself up, "I'm alright. He just startled me. It's alright... Really." 

He keeps an eye on the boy, watching as he walks around to pick up the fallen fruits and placing them in the basket that he had snatched from Ranboo. 

"Here you go, big man," the boy says, handing him the basket, which he takes.

"Again, sorry- I can pay for any bruised or squashed fruit," the man says. 

"No. No. Really it's alright," Ranboo says, nervously laughing. He checks that his glasses and mask are alright, that the earrings, which he asked for instead of wearing a heavy amulet everywhere, were still in place, that everything was there. Once he checked everything, he let out a sigh. Then he returns his attention to the father and son.

He grips the handle of the basket too tightly, wondering if he should warn this poor man that his son was... was a vile creature. But he doesn't. He keeps his mouth shut, his mind plagued with wicked intent, and he just tries to ignore them. 

"I'm Tubbo! Who are you?" 

"Ranboo." 

The man's eyes widen as the name sparks recognition in his mind that this is the prince of the kingdom that they're in. Though, Tubbo seems oblivious to that, peering up at the taller boy with big eyes as he says something that Ranboo doesn't hear.

He doesn't understand why his mind is thinking this way. Ranboo doesn't like his usual destructive tendencies and thoughts, and this wasn't any different. In fact, he hated these even more because they were way more violent. It made him want to throw up. 

"What..." he finally mumbles when he realizes that the boy was obviously waiting for him to say something. 

"Tubbo," the father crosses his arms, his voice scolding. 

The boy sighs, doing a small eye-roll as he repeats himself, "Father Dearest here wants me to help you." 

"Help me?" 

"Replace your squashed fruit." 

"Oh. As I said, it's alright. Seriously. I don't need help." 

"Tubbo doesn't mind helping. After all, he did run into you." 

"Yeah yeah," Tubbo waves his hand, "Whatever." 

Ranboo chews on his lip nervously, considering it. He didn't really want to accept, didn't really want to stay around this boy longer than he should have. But if they hung out, and nothing terrible happened, he would be able to tell himself that there was nothing to worry about. That his mind was just overthinking to the extreme. 

"Fine. Fine... It can't hurt," Prince Ranboo says.

"Meet me back at the inn after you're done," the blonde man tells Tubbo, patting him on the shoulder before leaving. The boy flicks one of his ears, maybe some form of acknowledgment to what the other said. 

"Well, Ranboo," he says it like  _ Ronboo _ , "Let's get going. There's some stuff I wanna do after this."

**Author's Note:**

> <3 Thank you to everybody who's read this. I've seen the number of reads on my other works and I'm just like :D woah pog!! seriously appreciate all those out there who take their time out of their day to read this


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